If you’re thinking about installing an internal French drain in your Suffolk County home, contact the team at Foundation Crack Repair. As the East Marion, NY French drain basement system experts, you can count on us to install a premium-quality, highly reliable internal French drain quickly and affordably. Our team of professionally trained and highly experienced technicians combines the most advanced tools and technologies with proven techniques and strategies to deliver outstanding results. When you choose Foundation Crack Repair for your internal French drain installation needs, you can have confidence knowing that you’ll receive durable, dependable, and long-lasting results.
What You Need to Know About Internal French Drain Systems for Your Suffolk County Home
Whether you use it for storage, it’s a dedicated living space, or you’ve converted it into an apartment and rent it out, a basement is a vital component of your Suffolk County home. Since it’s below ground and because it houses plumbing elements and certain appliances, however, there’s a downside to having a basement – and that downside is pretty major: it can flood. Water trapped in the soil that surrounds the walls, windswept rains, storm surges, burst pipes, a leaky hot water heater; basements are notorious for moisture damage, and that damage can be quite extensive. Not only can leaks and floods damage your belongings, but they can also structurally damage your house. That moisture can negatively impact indoor air quality and can even lead to mold growth. In other words, water damage in a basement can be a real nightmare.
Though it’s true that basements are prone to moisture, there are things that you can do to minimize the damage. Installing an internal French drain is one of the most effective ways that you can prevent the risk of moisture damage in your Suffolk County basement. What is a East Marion, NY French drain basement system? How can it shield your property from moisture damage? To find the answers to these questions and more, keep on reading.
Internal French Drain Defined
While there are several types of drains that can be installed in basements, an internal French drain is the most commonly used and recommended in Suffolk County. A East Marion, NY French drain basement system (also referred to as a footing drain), is a type of subsurface drain, meaning that it is located under the floor. It consists of a trench along the perimeter of the exterior walls of a basement. The trench is fitted with a perforated pipe, gravel, and rocks. Any water from the basement wall-floor joint collects in the drain, and a sump pump is used to empty the water a safe distance away from the house. Internal French drains are different from other types of surface drains because rather than collecting water over a particular location, an internal French drain collects water over the entire length of the drain. Furthermore, they can prevent the accumulation and pooling of water in particular areas, averting saturation of the underlying ground and the associated issues of saturation.
Subsurface drains have been used for centuries for a variety of purposes, such as agricultural runoff control and yard drainage. Primitive internal French drains were simplistic ditches that were dug into the floor and filled with gravel. Though it is often assumed that French drains originated in France (due to the name, of course), in actuality, it’s thought to have been developed by Henry Flagg French, a former US Assistant Treasury Secretary, and a lawyer. In a bookthat French published in 1859, titled Farm Drainage, he presented his novel drainage system, which he developed out of a need for drainage on his property, and created using roofing tile, and it was so effective that it became – and remains – extremely popular.
How an Internal French Drain Works
In order to understand how an internal French drain system works, it’s important to remember that water always seeks out the lowest point it can reach and does so by following the simplest path, which involves traveling into open spaces in loose soil. A East Marion, NY French basement drain system is designed on the same premise. It offers water a reliable and easy path to travel along. The sunken ditch prompts the percolation of water from the soil that surrounds it and provides that water with a smooth, reliable, and easy path to travel along.
How an Internal French Drain is Installed
Internal French drains, as stated above, are installed along the perimeter of a basement’s internal walls. To install it, a East Marion, NY French drain basement experts will take several factors into consideration to determine the ideal location for the drainage system. Once the ideal location is determined, they will measure the grading. Concrete will then be removed from the floor of the predetermined location in your basement, down to the footing of the house. A trench is dug, and a layer of stone is placed along the bottom of the trench. A perforated drain pipe is then placed on top of the stone.
When the trench is prepared, it will be lined with landscape fabric, and the fabric will be topped with gravel. The landscape fabric stops the ground dirt and the gravel from mixing together, and it also helps to encourage the percolation of water. Once the fabric and gravel have been laid, a perforated pipe will be placed on the bottom of the trench, and the trench will be filled with gravel. After the gravel has been placed, another layer of landscape fabric will be installed. A slotted drain will be fitted over the top of the trench.
The Benefits of an Internal French Drain
So, why should you opt for an internal French drain for your Suffolk County basement over any other type of drainage? There are several reasons, but the following are some of the most notable benefits:
Keep Your Suffolk County Basement Dry with an Internal French Drain System
If you’re interested in learning more about internal French drains, including how they work, how they’re installed, and the benefits they provide, get in touch with a premier East Marion, NY French drain basement contractor: Foundation Crack Repair. To schedule a free, in-home consultation, submit a contact form through our website or give us a call directly at 631-410-3388.
East Marion is a census-designated place (CDP) that roughly corresponds to the hamlet by the same name in the town of Southold in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The CDP population was 926 at the 2010 census.
The first inhabitants were the Orient Focus People, Native Americans who lived in the area about 1000 BC. They vanished long before the arrival in about 900 AD of the Corchaugs, who called the area Poquatuc. The Corchaugs were still present when six English families settled in 1661. The new residents called the area Oysterponds because of the abundant shellfish that they began to gather and sell to nearby communities. While farming remained the principal occupation, trading vessels began operating out of the sheltered harbor during the colonial period.
British troops landed in 1776 during the American Revolutionary War. Many families fled to Connecticut, and the Redcoats periodically plundered the farms they left behind. After Benedict Arnold switched sides, he organized raids on Connecticut from Oysterponds. The British returned during the War of 1812, setting up what turned out to be a porous blockade against American ships sailing to New York City. In 1814 Commodore Stephen Decatur anchored his American squadron off Trumans Beach but never engaged the British. After the war, renewed farming and fishing brought prosperity to Oysterponds. By 1840 more than 30 schooners were operating out of the harbor, carrying fish and produce.
Orient and East Marion originally were called Oysterponds Lower Neck and Oysterponds Upper Neck, respectively. In 1836, the two communities went their separate ways with new names. Orient was chosen to reflect the area’s easternmost position on the North Fork of Long Island. East Marion was named for Gen. Francis Marion, the ‘Swamp Fox’ of the Revolutionary War. ‘East’ was tacked on because of an existing town of Marion upstate.
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